An Apology for Atheism | Page 7

demonstrates the fallibility of majorities. It
palpably exhibits, too, the danger as well as the folly of presuming the
unpopularity of certain speculative opinions an evidence of their falsity.
A public intellect, untainted by gross superstition, can nowhere be
appealed to. Even in this favoured country, 'the envy of surrounding
nations and admiration of the world,' the multitude are anything but
patterns of moral purity and intellectual excellence. They who assure us
vox populi is the voice of God, are fairly open to the charge of ascribing
to Him what orthodox pietists inform us exclusively belongs to the
Father of evil. If by 'voice of God' is meant something different from
noisy ebullitions of anger, intemperance, and fanaticism, they who
would have us regulate our opinions in conformity therewith are
respectfully requested to reconcile mob philosophy with the sober
dictates of experience, and mob law with the law of reason.

A writer in the Edinburgh Review [15:1] assures us 'the majority of
every nation consists of rude uneducated masses, ignorant, intolerant,
suspicious, unjust, and uncandid, without the sagacity which discovers
what is right, or the intelligence which comprehends it when pointed
out, or the morality which requires it to be done.' And yet religious
philosophers are fond of quoting the all but universal horror of Atheism
as a formidable argument against that much misunderstood creed.
The least reflection will suffice to satisfy any reasonable man that the
speculative notions of rude, uneducated masses, so faithfully described
by the Scotch Reviewer, are for the most part grossly absurd and
consequently the reverse of true. If the masses of all nations are
ignorant, intolerant, suspicions, unjust, and uncandid, without the
sagacity which discovers what is right, or the intelligence which
comprehends it when pointed out, or the morality which requires it to
be done; who with the least shadow of claim to be accounted
reasonable will assert that a speculative heresy is the worse for being
unpopular, or that Atheism is false, and must be demoralising in its
influence because the majority of mankind declare it so.
The Author of this Apology does not desire it may be inferred from the
foregoing remarks, that horror of Atheism, and detestation of its
apostles, is confined to the low, the vulgar, the base, or the illiterate.
Any such inference would be wrong, for it is certainly true that learned,
benevolent, and very able Christian writers, have signalised themselves
in the work of obstructing the progress of Atheism by denouncing its
principles, and imputing all manner of wickedness to its defenders. It
must indeed be admitted by the really enlightened of every name, that
their conduct in this particular amply justifies pious Matthew Henry's
confessions, that 'of all the christian graces, zeal is most apt to turn
sour.'
One John Ryland, A.M. of Northampton, published a 'Preceptor, or
General Repository of useful information, very necessary for the
various ages and departments of life' in which 'pride and lust, a corrupt
pride of heart, and a furious filthy lust of body,' are announced as the
atheist's 'springs of action,' 'desire to act the beast without control, and

live like a devil without a check of conscience,' his only 'reasons for
opposing the existence of God;' in which he is told 'a world of creatures
are up in arms against him to kill him as they would a venomous mad
dog,' in which among other hard names he is called 'absurd fool,'
'beast,' 'dirty monster,' 'brute,' 'gloomy dark animal,' 'enemy of
mankind,' 'wolf to civil society,' 'butcher and murderer of the human
race,' in which moreover he is cursed in the following hearty terms:
'Let the glorious mass of fire burn him, let the moon light him to the
gallows, let the stars in their courses fight against the atheist, let the
force of the comets dash him to pieces, let the roar of thunders strike
him deaf, let red lightnings blast his guilty soul, let the sea lift up her
mighty waves to bury him, let the lion tear him to pieces, let dogs
devour him, let the air poison him, let the next crumb of bread choke
him, nay, let the dull ass spurn him to death.'
Dr. Balguy in the course of a Treatise which the 'liberal' author of a
Sketch of the Denominations of the Christian World, 'considered an
excellent antidote against atheistical tenets,' expresses himself in the
following manner: 'Of all the false opinions which ever infested the
mind of man, nothing can possibly equal that of atheism, which is such
a monstrous contradiction of all evidence, to all the powers of the
understanding and the dictates of common sense, that it may well be
questioned whether any man can really fall into it by a deliberate use of
his judgment. All nature so